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Al Quattrocchi, 90, has made thousands of wooden toys to donate to children over the past 20 years. He has made 300 since Christmas and is trying to make 200 more before the holiday season. He works in the garage of his Sherwood home and his contributions to the community led to him being knighted at the recent Robin Hood Festival.
(Michael Lloyd / The Oregonian)

Al Quattrocchi Sherwood ToymakerAl Quattrocchi, 90, was knighted at the 2013 Sherwood Robin Hood Festival for spending his retirement making thousands of wooden toys to donate to children during the holidays. Now he's planning to scale back as kids shirk the sandbox for the computer.

In front of a stage filled with Renaissance singers, the 90-year-old retired house painter, in a cream dress shirt and slacks, approached Maid Marian. After 20 years of crafting and donating thousands of wooden toys, he was one of 12 people being honored with knighthood as part of the city's annual summer celebration.

He kneeled on a blanket as a Renaissance singer read his accomplishments.

"He has been able to give away on average 500 toys a year."

Quattrocchi wrung his hands and darted his eyes. His friends and family warned him not to kneel for his knighting.

"Of course he is known as the toymaker and what a joy it is to have him as part of Sherwood history."

The audience burst out laughing. Two men in medieval garb helped Quattrocchi to his feet. The cheers commenced.

Hip hip, huzzah!

Quattrocchi looked around, relieved to stand.

Hip hip, huzzah!

Even in the twilight of his life, Quattrocchi devotes most days to giving to others. A modest man who avoided the spotlight, he was bewildered by the sudden attention.

Hip hip, huzzah!

'A wood butcher'

View full sizeAl Quattrocchi, 90, uses a table saw to make wooden toys for donation to the Marine Toys for Tots program. Michael Lloyd / The Oregonian

The next week, Quattrocchi (pronounced kwat-row-che, Italian for "four eyes")was back in the shop preparing a set of wooden Rolls-Royces. With goggles on and a blue T-shirt tucked into khakis, he carefully curved a square block around a narrow blade, carving out the interior. The screeching of the saw and whoosh of the vacuum pumping away the dust reverberated through his garage.

Every morning after his 10 a.m. coffee at the Sherwood Senior Center, Quattrocchi works in his garage for three or four hours. There, he keeps eight types of sanders, four standing saws and an intricate vacuum system to keep dust at bay.

"Woodworkers, we get carried away," Quattrocchi said, struggling to remember how much wood he uses a year. Most of the wood is donated from a nearby warehouse or construction sites.

Quattrocchi says he can't complain about health problems. He has to be careful working with his hands because of arthritis. Sometimes his wife, Jean, or daughter, Deborah, will help with tiny parts.

"I was going to rent these hands out for Halloween every year, look at them!" Quattrocchi said, holding out his wrinkled hands punctuated by knobby joints and dark nails.

He keeps finished toys in two backyard sheds: boats, racecars, helicopters, crickets and a monster truck. More than 300 toys, finished since Christmas, are neatly stacked on shelves and in wooden boxes.

Come Christmas, Quattrocchi will drop them off at a nearby Marine Toys for Tots collection site. Before Toys for Tots, he donated to the annual KGW toy drive and was featured in commercials.

"He's really Santa Claus for so many kids in the Portland-area," said Mark Federspiel, a volunteer at the Sherwood Senior Center who nominated Quattrocchi for knighthood.

Quattrocchi keeps up with woodworking magazines, but he has no interest in intricately designed toys that'd stay in a shelf. He wants toys that kids will play with, get dirty with in a sandbox.

"I'm just a wood butcher," Quattrocchi said. "I'm a rank amateur."

'Keep yourself busy'

View full sizeMost of Quattrocchi's toys are some sort of vehicle, such as this car with a mahogany finish. He also has made boats, monster trucks, helicopters and a foot-tall golf cart. He creates his toys using simple designs to encourage kids to play with them, rather than for adults to keep on a shelf. Michael Lloyd / The Oregonian

Growing up in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, during the Great Depression, Quattrocchi didn't play with the kind of toys he makes now.

"You know what I got for Christmas? A stocking with an orange and some candies," he recalled.

He served as a private in the Canadian Army in World War II, and met his wife while stationed in England. They lived in Canada before moving to oceanside Pacific Grove, Calif., in 1965.

For more than 30 years, Quattrocchi worked as a house painter and wallpaper hanger. Woodworking was always his hobby.

He helped build two of his houses in Canada and one in California. His four daughters and four grandchildren used cabinets and played with dollhouses he built.

He started making toys 20 years ago. When he moved to Sherwood in 2003 to be closer to a daughter, Quattrocchi brought 160 boxes of wood with him.

As soon as he and Jean bought a home, Quattrocchi started putting together a shop in his garage.

"You gotta keep yourself busy," he said.

'He won't brag'

View full sizeAt 90, Quattrocchi says he does not have serious medical problems, although his arthritis means he has to be careful using his hands in his workshop. He uses leftover wood from toys to make smaller versions of the same toys. Michael Lloyd / The Oregonian

When Quattrocchi received a letter two months ago inviting him to a knighting ceremony, he thought it was junk mail.

"A whole lot of people have done way more than I have," Quattrocchi said.